PM360 March 2011

DTC TALK

Lilly’s Doug Wilson on Reaching Consumers
By Richard Meyer

I have been a big fan of Lilly's "Depression Hurts" campaign because I believe it evokes an emotional connection to the cost of depression. Recently, I sat down with Doug Wilson, who is the Senior Director for Cymbalta consumer marketing, to gain some insights into their successful DTC marketing program.

PM360: Eli Lilly has always been considered an expert in neuroscience with blockbusters like Prozac. How did this help with the launch and marketing of Cymbalta with consumers?

DOUG WILSON: We have been able to take our deep neuroscience heritage and expertise and build upon it with Cymbalta. Lilly has strived to deeply understand our patients’ journey through this devastating illness to better understand key insights into our customers’ needs and frustrations. This has helped us communicate to sufferers in a way that’s meaningful and helpful to them.

With different indications for Cymbalta, including the new indication for pain, how are you planning to segment the audience for each indication via your DTC?

The disease states that Cymbalta is approved to treat or manage—major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia and chronic musculoskeletal pain [specifically, chronic low back pain and chronic osteoarthritis pain]—fall into distinct categories with unique consumer needs. These different patient populations have unique demographics, healthcare needs, attitudes, and behaviors that we fundamentally approach differently to individualize our communications that are relevant to each segment. It’s not our policy to share future marketing plans and strategy.

Recently, Cymbalta started the Cymbalta Promise Program. Can you share any insights on this program such as the rationale behind it?

Lilly’s Cymbalta Promise Program is a unique, consumer-oriented program designed to help appropriate new patients get started on Cymbalta, encourage an ongoing dialogue between patients and their doctors, and help get the right patients on the right treatment—whether it’s Cymbalta or not. [It’s important to note that the Cymbalta Promise Program is not a guarantee of efficacy. It provides a trial period that may help patients and doctors to assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of Cymbalta.]

The Cymbalta Promise Program is an initiative that will reimburse 100% of out-of-pocket prescription costs for up to the first 60 days of treatment to new patients who, along with their prescribing healthcare professionals, are not satisfied with Cymbalta. [Note that some restrictions apply; patients and their doctors should visit www.cymbaltapromise. com for full terms and conditions.]

I saw that Cymbalta recently did an online marketing program with WebMD. How were the results for that program?

WebMD is an important destination for consumers seeking healthcare information. We feel it is a germane place to share information with the appropriate patients. It’s not our policy to share specific marketing performance information.

A unique aspect of Cymbalta DTC is the "Depression Hurts" campaign, in which you show that a patient with depression can clearly have an effect on family members and loved ones. What led to this unique approach?

We conducted extensive research during the development of the advertisements and obtained feedback from sufferers, caregivers, physicians, and advocates to ensure the portrayal of people with depression was accurate. We learned through our research how impactful depression can be on those who suffer from the illness, and we incorporated that into our advertising appropriately.

I believe the “Depression Hurts” campaign is one of the best DTC campaigns ever done. The soundtrack and images portray depression very well. Do you feel that the campaign has done anything to break down the stigma of depression with consumers?

Depression is a real illness that needs to be treated. Unfortunately, despite an increase of available information about depression over the years, the stigma regarding depression persists.

The “Depression Hurts” campaign may help people see how depression may be impacting them and encourages them to seek professional help to manage the illness.

DOUG WILSON Eli Lilly, Senior Director for Cymbalta consumer marketing .